22. Mac #2
“Hey. Uh. Thanks for doing this. I’m sorry Dad is putting you up to this.” Aken pushes back the hood and thick, black curls spring out, framing his face. A smile that’s one hundred percent fake forces his lips up.
“Your dad isn’t putting me up to shit, kid.
Come on, I’ll show you the apartment. It’s not much.
” Henry starts to turn when he sees me creeping.
I fake a smile that’s not much better than Aken’s and try to ask all the questions I have through my eyes.
But Henry either doesn’t get it or chooses to ignore me.
“You’re done here. Get going. You have tomorrow off.” He dismisses me and continues walking quickly towards the stairs. Aken tries to keep up with Henry’s long strides. He looks down at his feet as he passes me, fiddling with a strip of duct tape on the strap over his shoulder.
The mystery of who is moving into the apartment is answered, but not really. I’m even more worried and intrigued now. Aken looks like he might rob Henry blind. Or who the fuck knows what else.
I stand, watching them walk away, trying to decide if I should stick around for a bit. Henry is a big guy, he can handle himself, but I feel weird leaving him here alone. I owe him after everything he’s done for me over the years.
“Mac. You can go. Everything is fine,” Henry shouts from the back. His voice is firm, but conscious of how he sounds. He doesn’t even look back at me, just continues to march Aken forward and up the stairs. I wait another few seconds, watching them disappear.
I don’t feel like it is fine. Aken is looking at Henry weird, and Henry is acting wrong. But I listen and walk out to the Mustang. I sit inside, watching the upstairs window, listening for any sounds of a fight, but nothing comes. I don’t see either of them or hear anything.
After about thirty minutes, I finally leave, promising to swing by tomorrow to make sure everything is indeed fine.
There’s a storm coming.
Not a real one, but metaphorical. Good shit doesn’t happen to me. Happiness is always on a timeline. Waking up next to Sage is a fucking pipe dream that’s about to burst. Seven days of waking up happy. Seven days of kissing and touching. Seven fucking days.
Something is going to happen.
Something is going to crash through this bubble. This isn’t sustainable. I mean, it hasn’t been all butterflies and sunshine. We still live in a trailer that’s literally stained with our past. I still have work where Henry has been on a whole other level.
The guy that showed up moved into the apartment. He doesn’t come out much. I’ve seen him maybe twice since he showed up. Henry keeps looking up the stairs with a weird look on his face. He refuses to answer any of my questions.
Who is he? Why is his dad having him move here? Is he homeless? Why does Henry keep looking upstairs with that expression?
Every question is met with the same answer. “Mind your damn business, boy,” and “Get to work.” But besides Henry being grumpy and odd, everything is going too well.
Sage and I have fallen into a routine I fucking adore.
Every night after work, we heat up some dinner, usually cup of noodles or a frozen pizza.
Then settle in to watch a show we’ve both seen before.
Supernatural never gets old. And since Luna finally caved and gave us her Netflix password, we have all the episodes ready to go.
The whole time we are touching, it’s fucking amazing. Have I mentioned how amazing being able to touch Sage is? Because holy shit, it’s epic. When we move into the room, it’s all kissing and touching.
We haven’t tried anything beyond what we’ve already done. I’m scared of pushing him too far. He’s never fucked a guy before, and I’m kind of just waiting for the panic.
It’s all fallen into place way too easily. He hasn’t shied away from my touches in front of others. Luna stopped by to drop off the sheets Lizzy stole for us the other night. And he kissed my cheek, like it’s something we’ve always done.
I mean, a simple kiss on my cheek made my mind spin and my body come alive.
Luna giggled and clapped like a schoolgirl, making Sage blush and tell her to fuck off, but he didn’t back away.
He kissed me again just to prove some kind of point.
But the freak out has to come eventually.
I mean, he’s never been with a guy, and it’s way different than being with a girl.
But I want to explore more. Everything. Shit I’ve never even thought about trying. If he said he wanted to explore tentacle dildos, I’d bend over and let him try it out. I want it all with him. I’m well-versed, so whichever way he prefers, I’m game.
“We goin’ to the docks tonight?” Sage asks as he walks into the living room where I’m tugging on my work boots. He’s already dressed and ready for work, holding his backpack in his hands.
Why is that so fucking hot? His jeans are well worn and have mud caked to the bottom. Evidence that we have not kept up with doing laundry. His black shirt hugs his chest like second skin. I get lost looking at him.
“Hey, asshole,” he snaps when I don’t answer his question. But he’s grinning at me. He seems to have the same problem I do. Always fucking smiling.
The docks. Right, it’s Friday and everyone is doing what they always do. Getting fucked up.
“Thought you had to work late?”
“I do, but I should be off before nine. Everett’s wife just gave birth, so I gotta cover for him.
” Sage likes to do this thing. Where he’ll drop names of people I don’t know.
I try not to let it bother me that I don’t know them.
I would have if I hadn’t left. So, when he name-drops strangers, I just smile and nod.
“Cool. Meet me there?”
“Sounds good. I gotta go.” He walks over to the couch, bending over the back and planting a kiss on my lips.
I don’t let him get away with that shit.
A quick peck isn’t enough. I grab the back of his neck, pulling him down onto the back of the couch, and deepen the kiss, pressing my tongue into his mouth.
The taste of mint explodes on my taste buds. He pulls back and smiles. “I can’t be late.” I roll my eyes but let go of him. Fucker is always worried about being on time for shit. It would be adorable if it wasn’t so goddamn annoying.
“I’ll see you tonight.” He grabs the backpack he dropped and he’s leaving me like a tease.
See? Shit’s gonna fucking explode soon, I just know it.